Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad
I love when you accidentally create something delicious with leftover produce you had sitting in your fridge. That’s exactly how this recipe came about. I actually was inspired by my sister, who made a yummy pasta salad she was telling me about earlier in the week. I immediately went to the store to grab all the necessary ingredients the next day. Instead of an Italian dressing, I thought let’s make a creamy pesto dressing since I knew I had a batch of homemade pesto in the freezer. It turned out delicious so i’m going to show you guys how I make it!
INGREDIENTS:
For the Pasta Salad—
half a bag of short pasta (bowtie, penne, etc)
1.5 cups broccoli
1 small zucchini
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
fresh mozzarella pearls
hot banana peppers (optional)
salami (optional)
For the Creamy Pesto Dressing—
1/2 cup of homemade pesto (recipe HERE) or store-bought works too
2 tbsp mayo or vegan mayo
1-2 tbsp water
DIRECTIONS:
Boil half a bag of pasta in salted water.
Slice red onion and soak in cold water for 15 minutes.
Cut broccoli into large chunks. Slice zucchini lengthwise into 1/2” strips.
To a skillet over medium heat, add in olive oil and grill broccoli and zucchini until charred on all sides. I like to keep the texture of the veggies slightly crunchy so it should cook in 3ish minutes total.
Let veggies cool and chop into bite sized pieces.
Slice cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise and set aside.
Drain red onion.
To make dressing, blend 1/2 cup of pesto and 2 tbsp mayo or vegan mayo with 1 tbsp water to start. Check consistency and add more water if needed.
Add cooked pasta to a large bowl, add in all your toppings, drizzle with pesto dressing and mix to thoroughly combine and enjoy!